Method of making plaster grounds



Feb. 27, 1940. W s. EDGE 2,191,647

METHOD OF MAKING PLASTER GROUNDS Filed Nov. l5, 1958 2 sheets-sheet 1 l INVENTOR f l @mi 54?@ Fiy. Fig.; Fig. H79.

I METHOD OF MAKING PLASTER GROUNDS Filed Nov. l5, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY.

Patented Feb. 27,I 1,940

uNlTso STA-T METHOD oFMAKING PLASTER GRoUNDs Walter s. v`Edge, lAtlanta,Ga. AApplication November 15, 1938, Serial No. 240,477

8 Claims.

My invention relates toa method of producing reinforcement mesh that is particularly adapted for use in the building of walls, ceilings, and iloors, etc., where reinforcement is desired for a body or slab of plaster, concrete or stucco material, or the like.

The invention is especially applicable to that class of structures wherein a Wire mesh `reinforcement is employed for plastic material such as plaster, concrete, etc., and is backed by a. form vsheet of paper, wire cloth, burlap or other more or less flexible material, the composite mesh and sheet 'being frequently designated as plaster ground or plaster base.

One object of my invention is to provide a method of producing a plaster base. of unusual rigidity to enable it to be easily handled and nailed or otherwise fastened in place.

Another object is to provide a method whichl results in a plaster ground of unusualv stiffness after erection so that it will withstand the action ofthe plasterers trowel and avoid the use of an excessive amount of plaster.

Another object of my invention is to provide a method whereby a plaster ground'isI produced of such form that the plaster body formed thereon will be of greater strength, relative to its thickness and weight7 as compared to forms of struc-` tures heretofore employed. l

Another object is to provide a method which is particularly suitable for producing a structure of such rigidity that it will be used in floor construction where it must support considerable verticaly loads ofl wet concrete or mortar before the same has set.

It Will be understood that it is in'ugierativev that a plaster base of the type kherein described should have sufcient stiffness to enable it to be handled easily before and during erection., Also it must be stiff enough and resilient enough to withstand the pressure due to the plasterers trowel or the weight of the wet suspended plaster, if

it i5 used on a ceiling, or the downward pressure due to men walking on it or the Weight of wet concrete, if it is used in floor construction.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a face View of a Wire fabric and a backing sheet therefor; Fig. 2 is an enlarged View taken onthe line II-II of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 isan enlargedfvieW taken on the line III- 111 of Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is a view taken on the line IV-IV of Fig. 2; Fig/5 is a View similar to Fig. 2, but showing the stucco or plaster applied thereto; Fig. 6 is a sectional View of another form of light structural ribwhich may be employed, and Figs. 7, 8 and 9 show other enable the product to' forms of ribs which may be used for the samel l purpose. Fig. 10 is a face View ofa plaster ground similar to Fig. 1, except thatv a different type lof stiffening rib is employed and the lacing Wires which hold the backingsheet against the rear of the fabric sheet run parallel to the ribs instead of across them as they do in. Fig. 1; Fig. ll'is'an enlarged section on line XI- -XI of Fig. 10, and Fig. 12 is an enlarged section on line XII- XIIfof Fig. 10.

Referring first to Figs. 1 to 5, the structure includesv av sheet of fabric having stay wires I8 and I5 to which are welded marginal strand wires I4 and light structural ribs It' of V cross, sec-y tion. The wires vused in the welded structure are preferably of low carbon contentv (.121/2' carbon or less), in order to secure better rWelds than is possible with high carbon wire. Stay. wires lsand `ing fabric greater rigidity and resiliency.

A backing or form sheet Il is supported against the rear side of the fabric, by lacing wiresjll I5 are preferably hard drawn to givethe result'-V which should be of hard drawn Wire to provide a resilient supportv for the backing sheet which will yield slightly under the pressure of plastering but will prevent the use of an excessive amount of mortar. The backing sheet I1, for interiorv plaster work, should preferably be one having a rough nbrous surface and possessing as high ay wet strength asxpossibla Forstucco work it should be a Water resistant paper such as an asphalt treated kraft paper.

The lacing wires IE' lie mainly behind the backing sheet, as shown in Fig. 1, but are thread'- ed therethrough at intervals where they overli'e and are supported by the lightstructural ribs I3. Lacing Wires le mayor may not be Welded to the ribs- I3, depending upon` themethod used in manufacture.

The ribs I3 are preferably attened at either end where they are welded to the marginal stay wires I8 to' reduce the thickness of the plaster ground at these points. This isnecessary to reduce the thickness of two overlapping sheetsat Vertical joints which will ordinarily be directly in front of studding to which theplaster ground is attached. i l

, `Where one kmethod of manufacture is used, the backing sheet I1 is brought in `contact with the rear side of the Welded structure composed of stay wires I3 and I5, strand wires I4 and ribs I3 which are welded together, and lacing Wires I6 are inserted by first deflecting outwardly those portions of the backing sheet I1 between the yribs I3, and then inserting the lacing Wires as the ing sheet.

backing sheet and mesh are advanced by suitable feeding means.

Another method of manufacture will enable the entire assembly to be made on one machine. Here the backing sheet I'I, the stay wires I8 and I5, and the lacing wires IG will 'be fed through the machine, the wires I3 and I5 being on top of the sheet and the lacing wires I6 being underneath the sheet. As the sheet passes through the machine,A narrow slots IBA will be punched `in the backing sheet at points corresponding to the visible parts of lacing wires I6, in Fig. 1. Then the backing sheet will be pressed down at these points, allowing the lacing wires Iii to come through the slots ISA, and then the ribs I3 will be fed in from the side under Wires` I 8 and I5, and under the visible portions of the. lacing wires It, but above the backing sheet, and thus serve also as retaining members for the Wires I6. 'Ihe entire assembly of wires I8, I5 and I6 may then be welded to the ribs I3 and marginal wires I4, or the stay wires I 3 and I5 only may be so welded, the resulting plaster ground being practically the same as was obtained by the rst method.'

A third method of manufacture would be to first assemble the backing sheet Il, the lacing Wires I and the ribs I 3, and to then weld the rib members I3 to the mesh wires I5 and I3.

When the plaster ground has been secured to studding or other supporting members, the plaster I 9 (Fig. y5) is applied in the usual manner, the 'backing sheet Il' being held by the lacing wires I6, against the rear side of the ribs I3 and intermediate portions of the stay wires I5, with suflicient force to prevent excessive deflection of the backing sheet under` plastering pressure.

In applying the plaster the backing sheet will be pushed slightly away from wires I and ribs I3, but it will be sprung back by the lacing wires IB, so that there will be complete embedment of the wires I5 and ribs I5, Without excessive thickness of .plaster andwith consequent saving in plaster and reduction in weight and cost of the structure.

Referring now to Figs. 6, '7, 8 and 9, I show sevn eral forms which the rib -may take instead of the one shown in Figs. l to 5. In Fig. 6, 2l is a light Z section to which stay wire Ztl is attached. In

Fig. 7, a channel section 23 is used and in Fig. 8

an angle 25 fuliills the same purpose. In Fig. 9 a V section 2l similar to the one shown in Figs. l to 5 is shown, but instead of 'the stay wire 2% being welded across the top of it, it is welded across the bottom. These various light structural sections are employed to 'give the structure rigidity. They must be light in order to be cheap and easily cut with handshears in the hands of the Workman.

In Fig. l0 I show a slightly different form of 'plaster ground in which the stay wires 28, 29

and 29a consist of straight parallel wires as in Figs. l to 5, but they are welded to light struc- `tural ribs. 33 of channel form in cross section.

The ends of these members 38, where they are welded to marginal s ay wires 2S in Fig. 10, are flattened to provide a thinner structure at the lap as was previously explained. The backing vsheet 33 is deformed in much the same manner as in the previous design, but the lacing wires `32 extend parallel to the ribs and are supported by the stay Wires 29a. The lacing wires should be of hard drawn wire so that they are resilient and Will provide an elastic support for the back- In order to get the best results with this agreement it is frequently necessary to support the lacing wires 32 only on alternate or every third stay Wire, instead of every stay Wire. By doing so a more resilient support for the backing sheet and better coverage of the wires 29 and ribs 3@ is obtained. 'Ihis design also eliminates the need for crimping the lacing wires, and, as in the case of the lacing wires I6, no permanent or set bends need be formed there- 1n.

It will be understood that sheet material other than paper will sometimes be employed. For example, very ne Woven wire screening or loosely woven textile materials, such as burlap, could be used.

y. The structure of Fig. 1G may be assembled in somewhat the same manner as that of Fig. l, inr

wires 29avwill initially be free of the mesh, so that k when the sheet 33 and-the lacing wires are relatively defiected at the slits, these wires 29a can be slid into position between the forwardly deected portions of the lacing wires 3i? and the sheet, and can thereafter be welded to the members 30 and 3l.

It will be noted that rib elements 2l, 23, 25 and 30 have their web portions extending perpendicularly to the plan-e of the meshand their outer edges flanged in parallelism with the plane of the mesh wires. The rib elements are of course embedded by the plaster and said anges serve to anchor the plaster to these ribs, and the perpendicular webs provide maximum stilness for a I given amount of metal.

I claim as my invention:

l. The method of making plaster ground which comprises forming rows of transversely alined slits in a backing sheet, positioning lacing wires at the rear side of the sheet and a mesh at the front of the sheet, vdeflecting the sheet and the lacing wires relative to one another, so that portions of the lacing wires will extend forwardly through the slits, inserting retaining.

members between the sheet and the said forwardly-extending portions ofthe lacing wires, in a direction crosswise of said wires, and connecting the retaining members to the mesh.

2. The method of making plaster ground which comprises forming rows of transversely alined slits in a backing sheet, positioning lacing wires 3. The method of making plaster ground which` comprises forming rows of transversely alined slits in a backing sheet, positioning lacing wires at the rear side of the sheet and a mesh at the front of the sheet, deflecting the sheet and the lacing wires relative to one another, so that .portions of the lacing wires will extend forwardly through the slits, inserting retaining members between the sheet and the said forwardly-extending portions of the lacingv wires, and behind the mesh, in a direction crosswise of said wires,

, and welding the retaining members to themesh.

wires, and connecting the reinforcement members to a mesh.r

5. The method of making plaster ground which comprises positioning lacing wires atthe rear side of a sheet, deflecting the sheet and the lacing wires relative to one another, so that portions of the lacing wires will' extend forwardly through the sheet, inserting` reinforcement members between the sheet vand the said forwardly-projecting portions, in adir'ection crosswise of the lacing wires, and welding the reinforcement members to the rear side of a reinforcement mesh.

6. The methodof making plaster ground which v comprises positioning lacing wiresy at the rear vside of a sheet, deflecting the sheet andthe lacing wires relative to one another, so. that portions,

of the lacing wires will vextend forwardly through the sheet, and inserting reinforcement members between the' sheet and the said forwardly-projecting portions, in a direction crosswise of the lacing wires, the lacing wires being -of resilient material and deflected through` the sheet along lines of such small angularity relative to the plane of the sheet that permanently'set bends will not be formed therein.

7. lThe method of making plaster ground whichr comprises positioning a series of lacing members against the rearside of a sheet, deecting ,the

and the said forwardly-projecting portions,in a

direction crosswise of the lacing membeisand connecting one of said series to reinforcement elements.

` 8. The method of making plaster ground which comprises forming rows of backing sheet, positioning lacing wires at the rear side of the sheet, opposite to said slits,v positioning almesh at the front of the sheet, delecting the slit portions of Vthe sheetto a plane rearwardly of the lacing wires,'insert ing retaining members between the wires and the said rearwardly portions of the sheet, in a direction crosswise of said wires, and connecting the retaining members to the mesh..

WALTER s. EDGE.

vtransversely alined. 

